Search form

Search form

The three biggest credit-reporting companies in the U.S. announced that hackers were able to access credit reports for famous people, including first lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Attorney General Eric Holder and entertainers including Beyonce and Paris Hilton. Experian, Equifax and TransUnion said the hackers used personal information such as Social Security numbers that was accessed elsewhere to get the credit reports.

Related Summaries

TransUnion, Equifax Information Services and Experian Information Solutions have reached agreements with 31 states to update the way the credit-reporting services handle consumer data. As part of the deal, the agencies will report the names of the lenders and others who provide erroneous consumer information on a consistent basis.

U.S. intelligence officials said Tuesday that cyber-attacks are a greater threat to national security than terrorism, transnational organized crime and weapons of mass destruction. The announcement came as the Obama administration said the military's Cyber Command is establishing 13 teams to launch offensive cyber-attacks on other countries during wartime.

Consumers could be wasting their time when turning in detailed documents to credit-reporting firms to fix credit-report errors, according to a study by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. That's because firms such as Equifax, TransUnion and Experian don't forward the information to credit card companies or debt collectors, but instead use a computerized coding system to describe the complaint. The report did not say whether the credit bureaus are violating any laws.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says it will supervise 30 of the largest credit-reporting agencies such as Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Some of the information that will be reviewed includes data accuracy, how information is maintained on consumers and dispute-resolution practices, says CFPB Director Richard Cordray.

Startup Zetta began offering the cloud-storage platform it designed to enterprises after months of testing and field trials, the Sunnyvale, Calif., company said.
In another forward move for cloud computing,
credit-reporting firm TransUnion, which has long developed custom software for banks and other businesses, is turning to the platform as a more efficient way to serve its customers. Clients can gain access to TransUnion's credit data and develop their own applications to put it to use, TransUnion said.